50% drop in sea piracy incidents in Asia reported

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) attributed yesterday the 50 percent decline of piracy and robbery on board ships to the intensified cooperation between neighboring countries and the political will among Asian nations.

Nicholas Teo, ReCAAP deputy director, said the collective efforts of the 26 member-countries resulted in a substantial decline in crimes committed at sea.

During the ongoing four-day ReCAAP Information Sharing Center (ISC) Capacity Building Workshop held at the Traders Hotel in Pasay City, Teo explained that the country-members oftentimes only exchange information through telephone calls, emails and fax messages.

ReCAAP records showed that in 2004 there were 200 mixed incidents of piracy and robbery at sea. The figure went down to 100 cases by 2008 and these were considered petty crimes.

Over the years it was noticed that there has been a shift in the targets, with sea pirates previously hitting on vessels while they are docked in ports or harbors. But when the enforcement agencies intensified their patrols close to the shore, the criminal groups moved out to international waters, specifically the South China Sea.

“They also now hit on softer targets. They now board tugboats and not big ships. The barges move more slowly,” Teo said.

He said the gangs do not commandeer the entire ship but only ransack and get what they want. “These are just petty thefts,” he explained.

Teo said it was important to note that the Philippines has a long coastline of about 36,000 kilometers that requires coordination among various local agencies and neighboring countries.

He said the lack of resources is probably one of the biggest problems of the Philippines.

Chris Trelawny, head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Maritime Security Section Maritime Safety Division, said that last year there were 10 ships hijacked by the Somali pirates. In the same period this year, the sea pirates had in their custody the same number of ships.

“But unlike before when the pirates only demanded $30,000 to $40,000 in ransom money, now they are asking for a million for the ship.”

These robbers also changed their choice of victims. When the Navy went out to protect the big foreign ships, the pirates started to prey on fishing boats.

The crimes used to be committed in the Gulf of Aden, but now the strikes are in the Somali Basin. 

The piracy problem in the waters of Somalia has become a major global economic concern, leading the IMO to come up with a memorandum of agreement called Djibouti Code of Conduct that intends to repress acts of piracy along the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, Trelawny said. 

The ReCAAP meeting showcased how information sharing among countries and situational awareness have become key factors in controlling the problem of sea piracy in Asia.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said that it is also important to note that the Philippines supplies 25 to 30 percent of seafarer demand in the world and there is a possibility that the lives of Filipino seamen would be endangered whenever their vessels sail near Somalia.

Tamayo said Somali pirates have previously taken Filipino seafarers hostage.

“The improvement of each country’s capability against piracy would mean the safety and security of the world’s seafarers, particularly considering that 80 percent of the world’s trade is transported by merchant vessels,” he added.